Hidden Secrets: A historic glow returns to Swanston and Collins

Amid the rush of trams, shoppers and office workers at the corner of Swanston and Collins streets, a small but significant piece of Melbourne’s past has quietly been brought back to life.

Standing outside the Hugo Boss store, directly opposite Melbourne Town Hall and the now-open Town Hall Station, a restored heritage gas lamp once again draws the eye. Freshly repainted and carefully refurbished by the City of Melbourne, the lamp has been returned to working order, reclaiming its place in one of the city’s busiest intersections.

For years it stood largely unnoticed – weathered, unlit and blending into the streetscape. But to some, it was more than a decorative relic. Dr David Horne, who began making enquiries about its restoration back in 2017, saw it as an important link to Melbourne’s early urban history.

Dr Horne’s interest in gas lamps dates back to his time living in England, where street gaslighting remained common well into the mid-20th century. London today still maintains more than 1000 operational gas lamps around landmarks such as Buckingham Palace and Covent Garden, preserving a tradition that began in the early 19th century when gaslight first transformed city streets.

Melbourne was quick to adopt the same technology. In the 1800s, gas lighting represented cutting-edge infrastructure, illuminating public spaces and reinforcing the city’s image as a modern and prosperous colony. While electric lighting eventually replaced most of the network, remnants of that earlier era remain.

According to City of Melbourne records, there are 36 gas lamps across the municipality, along with 17 gas lamp bollards – former lamps that have been shortened over time. One example can be found at the north-west corner of Little Collins and Russell streets.

The council maintains these heritage structures, undertaking painting, structural checks and glass cleaning, and occasionally facilitating relighting where possible. In some cases, however, older fittings cannot be retained due to modern safety standards.

The Swanston and Collins lamp now stands as a carefully restored reminder of that layered history. Whether viewed as a working light source or as a sculptural heritage feature, it adds a sense of continuity to an intersection defined by constant change.

With the transformation of Melbourne Town Hall and the new underground metro station nearby, the revived lamp offers a quiet counterpoint – a tangible link to a time when lighting a street was a technological marvel.

In a city known for reinvention, it’s easy to overlook these smaller details. But sometimes it’s the enduring fixtures – polished, preserved and standing their ground – that tell the most compelling stories. •